Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers Prediction, 12/16/2022 Preview and Pick

Game: Denver Nuggets vs Los Angeles Lakers

Date: Friday, December 16, 2022

Location: Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA

TV: Spectrum Sportsnet

The Los Angeles Lakers will compete against the Denver Nuggets at Crypto.com Arena on Friday.

The Nuggets faced off with the Wizards and earned the victory with a final of 141-128 in their last contest. When talking about fouls, the Nuggets finished with 17 while the Wizards recorded 28 fouls. They also knocked down 19 of their 39 shots from 3-point land. Washington walked away from this one shooting 56.5% at the charity stripe by knocking down 13 of their 23 attempts. In addition, Washington pulled down 24 rebounds (4 offensive, 20 defensive) and got 7 blocks. Washington recorded 40 assists and had 10 steals in this matchup. Regarding defending, Denver let their opponent shoot 52.7% from the field on 48 of 91 shooting. They also dished out 31 assists in the game while creating 13 turnovers and getting 8 steals. In reference to grabbing boards, they compiled a total of 45 with 7 of them being of the offensive sort. At the charity stripe, the Nuggets made 29 of their 35 shots for a rate of 82.9%. Denver walked away from the game with a 65.1% FG percentage (54 of 83) and converted 4 of their 16 3-point attempts.

Nikola Jokic is a player who had an impact in this game. He notched 43 points on 17 out of 20 shooting. He saw the court for 33 mins played and snagged 14 boards. Jokic ended up shooting 85.0% from the field and totaled 8 dimes.

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Denver heads into this game with a win-loss mark of 17-10 on the season. They cough up possession 15.3 times per game and as a unit they commit 19.4 fouls per game. As a team, Denver is snagging 43.0 boards per game and has 759 dimes this year, which is 7th in the league in terms of passing the rock. The Nuggets are connecting on 39.1% on shots from distance (319 of 815) and 75.1% from the charity stripe. They are averaging 116.0 points per game (6th in the league) while hitting 50.8% from the floor.

On the defensive end, the Nuggets are forcing their opponents into 13.7 turnovers every game while drawing 20.8 fouls. They give up 37.0% on shots from beyond the arc and they are ranked 18th in basketball in opponents PPG (114.3). The Nuggets defense is giving up an opponent shooting percentage of 48.9% (1,135 of 2,320) and they surrender 39.4 boards per contest as a unit. They are ranked 15th in the league in giving up assists with 711 conceded so far this year.

When they last stepped on the court, the Lakers went home defeated by a final of 122-118 against the Celtics. The Lakers recorded 42 defensive rebounds and 7 offensive boards totaling 49 in this contest. They turned the ball over 11 times, while earning 7 steals in this contest. The Celtics were called for 22 personal fouls for the contest which took the Lakers to the free throw line for a total of 30 attempts. They were able to knock down 22 of them for a percentage of 73.3%. When it comes to shots from downtown, Los Angeles buried 8 out of 29 attempts (27.6%). Overall, the Lakers ended up shooting 44 for 93 from the field which gave them a percentage of 47.3%. The Lakers permitted the Celtics to make 46 of 104 attempts from the floor which gave them a percentage of 44.2% for this game. They finished 39.6% from three-point range by hitting 19 out of 48 and finished the game at 11 out of 16 from the charity stripe (68.8%). Concerning how they cleaned up the glass, Los Angeles permitted Boston to grab 51 in all (13 on the offensive side).

Anthony Davis ended up having an impact for the Lakers for the game. He converted 13 of 24 for the contest for a field goal percentage of 54.2%, and accounted for 12 rebounds. Davis tallied 37 points in his 46 minutes of playing time and added 3 dimes in the matchup.

Los Angeles has a mark of 11-16 for the campaign. On the offensive side of the court, the Lakers are hitting on 47.4% from the field, which ranks 14th in basketball. Los Angeles has totaled 3,104 points on the season (115.0 per contest) and they pull in 45.5 boards per game. Their rate of earning assists is at 24.7 times per game (16th in the league) and they are turning it over 14.6 times per contest. The Lakers have committed 18.3 fouls every game and they connect on 80.0% from the charity stripe.

The Los Angeles defense gives up 34.3% on shots from beyond the arc (335 of 976) and opponents are knocking down 76.5% of their shots from the charity stripe. They allow 26.3 dimes and 46.6 rebounds on a nightly basis, which is ranked 25th and 29th in basketball. The Lakers defensively are ranked 25th in the NBA in PPG given up with 116.6. They have forced 13.2 TO's every game and have allowed teams to shoot 46.5% from the floor (9th in the league).

Who will win tonight's NBA game against the spread?

Josh Schonwald's Pick: Take Denver

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